Ecuador

Dictators have an unfair advantage over democratic governments; they can overturn their previous decisions without needing to explain themselves to anyone. In their territory they are king. Such is the case of Rafael Correa in Ecuador and of his fellow caudillos in Latin America -- Evo Morales in Bolivia, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina, and last but not least, the Castro brothers in Cuba. With the exception of the Castro brothers, modern-day Latin American dictators have a thin veneer of democracy.

For years, authoritarian Latin American presidents have censored in-country publications critical of their actions. Ecuador's Rafael Correa is no exception. Correa, who has a Masters and a PhD from the University of Illinois, goes much further. He has companies and government officials going after anyone who publishes or airs anything anywhere in the world that he considers disparaging. In simple terms: Correa wants to control what the world media has to say about his government.

The summer of international soccer in South Florida gets underway when Germany and Ecuador meet in a friendly at Florida Atlantic University Stadium at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. Both teams are in the middle of their World Cup qualifying. Germany is on course to reach its 16th consecutive World Cup, not having missed a tournament since 1950. The team is ranked second in the FIFA World Rankings. Ecuador will be using the Germany match to prepare for World Cup qualifiers in Peru on June 7 and at home against Argentina on June 11. Tickets start at $35.

BOCA RATON - Germany flexed its muscle about as quick as soccer allows. The No. 2 ranked team in the world, even with its "B Team," scored two quick goals to defeat Ecuador 4-2 in an international friendly at Florida Atlantic University Stadium on Wednesday afternoon before 8,679 fans. Germany proved its technical skill was too much for the Ecuadorean side as Lukas Podolski scored nine seconds into the match, the fastest goal in German international soccer history. Ecuador, currently second behind Argentina and in front of Colombia in the South American World Cup fixture, struggled to keep pace with Germany.

Students and teachers from the Ludoteca School in Quito, Ecuador shared their music, dance and culture with western communities' schools during their visit earlier this month. The purpose of the trip was to increase mutual understanding between students living in the United States and other regions of the world, according to the school district. A highlight of the visit was a stop at New Horizons Elementary School, 13900 Greenbriar Blvd., Wellington , in which students in the dual language program, one of a variety of ESOL program strategies utilized by Palm Beach County , were able to learn about Ecuador and share what they have learned in the program with the Ludoteca students.

A Miami-based Eastern Airlines jet was being held in Ecuador on Monday after a cleaning crew discovered the airplane was carrying nearly nine pounds of cocaine, an Ecuadorian drug enforcement official said. The official, who asked not to be named, said the cocaine was discovered aboard the plane on Saturday in Guayaquil. He said he suspected that a would- be smuggler -- fearing a U.S. Customs check at the plane`s final destination at Miami International Airport -- had abandoned the drug.

After his team lost to long-suffering Haiti in the Gold Cup on Sunday, Ecuador coach Hernan Dario Gomez turned philosophical, which was about all that was left for him at such a mind-bending moment. "There is no memory [now]," Gomez said of a defeat that was viewed as an embarrassment in Ecuador. "In soccer you forget everything." The best way to forget, of course, is to play another game. For Ecuador, the chance to put the Haiti nightmare behind it comes at 9 tonight when the first-time World Cup qualifiers play Canada in a decisive Group D match.

Ecuador's Barcelona and Peru's Alianza Lima are using the four-team Tourneo de Las Americas to prepare for the Copa Libertadores. Based on Wednesday's match between the teams, the preparation is going slowly, especially for Alianza. In a game that produced as many red cards as goals, Barcelona can claim to be further along than the Peruvians after a dull 3-0 win at the Orange Bowl. Daniel Lima scored a minute before the half and Hugo Brizuela and Nicolas Asencio added second-half goals in a match that featured little of the inventive soccer South Americans are known for. Alianza finished with nine men after defender Walter Cevallos and midfielder Juan Jayo were red-carded in the 23rd and 59th minutes.

South Florida fugitive Martin James Malone was busted after 22 years on the lam - when he fell victim to a crime himself. Malone, 50, who jumped bond during his 1990 trial on drug trafficking charges in South Florida, was caught in Ecuador in February. That's when Malone, who says he was working construction jobs, realized someone had broken into his car and stolen his wallet and cellphone. Malone set off to get a replacement driver's license but was stopped in La Libertad by police who were checking drivers' documents, according to his own account and a local news report.

MIAMI GARDENS - The England mens national soccer team almost got what they wanted. A warm, sunny, humid afternoon in South Florida enhanced by the sounds of home town soccer fans across the pond. Before getting too deep into the result of England's Pre-World Cup friendly with Ecuador at Sun Life Stadium on Wednesday, there was no David Beckham sighting for now. He is however expected to fly in Friday for England's game against Honduras on Saturday. As for the final tally, Michael Arroyo scored on an unassisted goal in the 69th minute as Ecuador rallied for a 2-2 draw before a crowd of 21,534.

In preparation to play Italy in its World Cup opener, England's prestigious national team has come to South Florida to warm up. Besides getting used to weather similar to Brazil, the team has lined up two friendlies - Wednesday against Ecuador and Saturday against Honduras at Sun Life Stadium. England, which recently qualified for its 14th World Cup, is seeking its first World Cup championship since 1966 and is ranked 11th in the latest FIFA World Rankings. Ecuador, ranked 28th in the world, is a formidable opponent.

Guillermo Martinez's April 17 column, "Democracy a real sham in Correa's Ecuador," is rife with inaccuracies and falsehoods. Mr. Martinez's predicates one argument on the baseless allegation that, "When eight U.S. Senators replied to [President of Ecuador Rafael Correa's] op-ed piece, he had a fit. " There was, in fact, no letter by U.S. Senators in response to the president's op-ed. Mr. Martinez may have been mistakenly thinking of a letter sent by a group of senators several days prior to the publication of an op-ed by the president.

Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador since 2007, is undoubtedly the best-educated leftist president in Latin America. He has two masters degree — one from Universite Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and another one from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a PhD from the same university. He speaks four languages: Spanish, English, French and Quechua. This allows Correa to present himself as a reasonable politician. One who in his Op-Ed column for the Boston Globe can rationally argue, "Real freedom requires justice.

Ecuador last week called on Colombia to increase its military presence along their border to check the spillover of rebel groups, drug trafficking and war refugees. The demand was one of several laid out by Ecuadorean officials as they argued that their nation has paid too high a price for its neighbor's decades-long civil conflict. The two nations seem far from repairing the rift that began six months ago when Colombian troops crossed the border to kill a rebel leader holed up in Ecuador.